At Mercer institutions, Greek life takes a variety of forms

Martin Griff / The Times of TrentonA fraternity on the Rider University campus, Lawrence

While Greek life to Princeton University officials signifies overconsumption of alcohol in some cases and a need to clamp down, other schools in the Trenton area claim to have reached a happier compromise with students over the role of fraternities and sororities.

As this month opened at Princeton University, school officials announced the formation of an 11-member panel of students, faculty and administrators who will hash out the details of a new policy banning freshmen from participating in Greek organizations. Their goal is to come up with a series of recommendations on how to implement the policy.

Meanwhile, students at Princeton have established a website to drum up resistance to the freshmen ban. “Paternalism is not progressive, and it’s not Princeton,” says a notice on the website, which invites students to join a network of opponents to the policy.

Some students and administrators at The College of New Jersey and Rider University say they feel their Greek organizations are taken more seriously and actually valued for the off-campus learning experience they provide.

“In my opinion, fraternity and sorority life at The College of New Jersey is probably the most influential expanded curriculum program we have,” said Dave Conner, an assistant director in the office of Student Activities and Leadership Development.

On campus, fraternities and sororities are treated like student organizations, and receive some support and guidance from the college.

“I think we do value fraternity and sorority life as an opportunity to really embrace the college’s mission,” Conner said. “A lot of the time, the college’s role and my role is just to support students.”

Meanwhile, Rider student Rebecca Grossman, a sophomore, is a member of Delta Phi Epsilon and says that academic work is well balanced with social activity. “It’s really easy to sit down and study,” she said. “I like that it is a very close-knit community.”

Grossman says life at Delta Phi Epsilon is nothing like the anything-goes atmosphere depicted in the popular National Lampoon movie “Animal House,” although “some people can get crazy — it is college.”

Roughly 15 percent of Rider students are members of Greek organizations, according to Tony Campbell, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “They are part of the everyday fabric of our campus,” Campbell said. “We try not to isolate them.”

Students who want to participate in Greek Life at Rider have to keep to a certain standard of academic performance, and they cannot join immediately upon entering the school, Campbell notes.

Students who want to join have to spend at least one semester at Rider, regardless of their class year, and achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.5, based on a 4.0 scale. At TCNJ, students are also expected to complete some coursework before joining and must maintain a 2.2 GPA. “We are looking at students who have acclimated and understand what it means to be a college student,” TCNJ’s Conner said.

Rider watches its Greek students closely. “We provide supervision through house directors, professional staff, who live in each house,” Campbell said.

As for partying, it is not allowed on campus unless a Greek group reserves a space in the campus pub with a campus safety monitor overseeing events and checking IDs of partygoers, Campbell said.

Princeton, on the other hand, does not officially recognize any Greek organizations.
The university had instituted a total ban for more than a century, only allowing the groups back on campus in the 1980s.

“Fraternities and sororities continue to be polarizing entities at Princeton,” said the report from the Working Group on Campus Social and Residential Life, which recommended the freshmen ban at Princeton.

University spokesman Martin Mbugua defended the plan.

“The new policy will give students the opportunity to spend their freshman year exploring the full range of what Princeton has to offer,” he said.

There were other concerns about the Greek life, such as excessive use of alcohol, and hazing and the rush-and-pledge process that takes place early in a student’s freshman year, Mbugua said.

“Finally, there were also concerns about eroding the cohesiveness of Princeton’s residential experience if students separate themselves early into Greek communities,” Mbugua said.
For some students at Rider, the Greek life is too homogenized.

Tyler Mattern, a Rider junior, said the dorm-style housing for Greek students on campus is far from what he imagined it would be.

“When I think of a frat house, I think of a regular college house,” he said. “These are like dorm buildings, with the letters on them.

Rider’s policies regulating Greek conduct on-campus underwent sweeping changes after the 2007 hazing death of a student there. After a settlement was reached with the victim’s family, new policies prohibited alcohol on campus, stiffened penalties for violators and promoted a “Good Samaritan” policy encouraging students to summon help when they believe a peer is in trouble.